We review recommendations made since the founding of the Charles Darwin Foundation in 1959, concerning botanical research for the conservation of Galapagos, and present our suggestions for priorities for the immediate future

Hamann, Ole

McMullen, Conley K.

Tye, Alan

Aquatic Commons

December 2008 43
in the tortoise and land iguana programs. Several theses
have been written based on such studies. Many of the
students have gone on to work for the CDF, the GNPS, or
other conservation and natural resource management
organizations throughout Ecuador and the world.
THE FUTURE
With the eradication of introduced mammals, many of
the giant tortoise populations are nearing the point when
the breeding and rearing center will no longer be required.
Monitoring their populations and restoring their habitat
will now be part of larger island restoration programs.
On Española, restoration of the Opuntia cactus forests that
were decimated by goats is beginning. On Santiago,
regeneration of the vegetation in the absence of goats,
pigs, and donkeys will need to be monitored to ensure
that the plant communities return to near-pristine con-
dition, allowing the tortoise population to complete its
recovery on its own. When rats are finally eliminated from
Pinzón, island restoration and a naturally reproducing
tortoise population will become a reality. Work on
southern Isabela, where introduced mammals still exist
and where poaching of tortoises is more common than
elsewhere in the islands, will continue. Current genetic
analyses may also highlight small remnant populations
that will need intensive management in the future.
On Pinta, where the return of the Pinta tortoise is
questionable if not impossible, a plan for restoring the
island, including the return of giant tortoises, has been
approved. Since genetic studies determined that the
Española tortoise is genetically the closest to the Pinta
tortoise, hatchlings from the Española breeding and
rearing program will be used to initiate the restoration
of that island and re-establish a tortoise population there,
on an island now free of introduced mammals.
The land iguana populations are doing well. If we are
able to eradicate the cats one day, land iguanas will also
be out of danger.
There are now land iguanas back on Baltra and tortoises
will soon be back on Pinta. After nearly 50 years of
integrated research and management aimed at the
conservation of the biodiversity of Galapagos, most land
iguana populations are in good shape and all of the tortoise
populations are in better condition than when the
Galapagos National Park was established in 1959.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A research and management program with more than 40
years of success is only possible with the passion and
dedication of many scientists, park wardens, consultants,
students and volunteers. I am indebted to all of them, for
their work in the field and in the tortoise and iguana
centers, for our many discussions, and for their many
reports and publications.
BOTANICAL RESEARCH IN THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS: THE
LAST FIFTY YEARS AND THE NEXT FIFTY
By: Conley K. McMullen1, Alan Tye2 & Ole Hamann3
1Department of Biology, MSC 7801, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807 U.S.A.
<mcmullck@jmu.edu>
2Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, PO Box 240, Apia, Samoa
 3Botanic Garden, University of Copenhagen, Oster Farimagsgade 2B, DK-1353 Copenhagen, Denmark
SUMMARY
We review recommendations made since the founding of the Charles Darwin Foundation in 1959, concerning
botanical research for the conservation of Galapagos, and present our suggestions for priorities for the immediate
future.
RESUMEN
La investigación botánica en las Islas Galápagos: los últimos cincuenta años y los próximos cincuenta. Revisamos
las recomendaciones hechas desde el establecimiento de la Fundación Charles Darwin en 1959, acerca de la investi-
gación botánica para la conservación de Galápagos, y presentamos nuestras sugerencias para el futuro inmediato.
Galapagos Commentary
44 Galapagos Research 65
INTRODUCTION
Since the establishment of the Charles Darwin Foundation
(CDF) in 1959, a tremendous amount of botanical research
has been accomplished through the collaborative efforts
of the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS), the Gala-
pagos National Park (GNP), visiting scientists, and local
and international volunteers. The direction of this research
has often been influenced by the suggestions of experts
who have, from time to time, met to discuss and prioritize
botanical studies in the archipelago. In this paper, we
briefly discuss the history of botanical planning, the major
research areas that have been suggested or initiated as a
result, and our recommendations for future directions.
BOTANICAL RESEARCH PLANNING SINCE 1959
A landmark in the history of Galapagos botany was the
Galapagos International Scientific Project, in 1964. For
several weeks, experts from a variety of fields attempted
to gather as much information as possible about the
natural history of the islands. Botanists participating in
the project included E. Yale Dawson, F. Raymond Fosberg,
Syuzo Itow, Charles M. Rick, William A. Weber, and Ira
L. Wiggins, who generated many ideas for future studies
in the archipelago, and contributed to the production of
the islands’ flora (Wiggins & Porter 1971).
Eight years later, the Galapagos Science Conference,
held at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, 6–
8 October 1972, attracted botanists including Rick,
Wiggins, Paul A. Colinvaux and Duncan M. Porter, and
encompassed research planning discussions that re-
commended: 1) vegetation mapping and quantitative
sampling, 2) studies of plant-animal interrelationships,
3) phytogeography, 4) reproductive ecology, and 5)
population biology (Simkin et al. 1972).
The next and largest gathering of botanists in the
Galapagos Islands was the Workshop on Botanical
Research and Management held at CDRS, 11–18 April
1987, whose participating scientists are listed in the
proceedings (Lawesson et al. 1990). The purpose of this
meeting was to compile botanical information of use in
managing and conserving the flora of the islands. Major
recommendations were summarized as: 1) eradication of
introduced animals, 2) eradication of introduced plants,
3) protection of endangered species, 4) development of a
documentation system, 5) a mapping program, and 6)
conservation of Galapagos species outside the islands.
In May 1999, an international workshop of conserva-
tion biologists was held at CDRS and GNP headquarters,
to produce a “Biodiversity Vision for the Galapagos
Islands”, with major input from staff and visiting
botanists and resulting in more recommendations for the
next 50 years (Bensted-Smith 2002). Most recently, the
CDRS Botany Department produced a report on recent
research and more specific plans for the future (Tye 2003),
including: 1) completion of baseline inventories, 2)
establishment of long-term monitoring programs, 3)
design and implementation of invasive plant priori-
tization systems and completion of the Galapagos plant
red list, 4) invasive species research and management, 5)
habitat protection and restoration, and 6) research and
restoration of endangered species.
Aside from the publications mentioned above, which
resulted directly from these workshops, other landmark
works stimulated by these planning exercises have
included major studies of Galapagos vegetation (Werff
1978, Hamann 1981), studies of non-vascular taxa (Weber
& Gradstein 1984), a revised checklist of the flora (Lawesson
et al. 1987) and a field guide (McMullen 1999). Research
stimulated by the recommendations listed above has
resulted in hundreds of journal articles and book chapters.
The Galapagos bibliography up to 1995 (Snell et al. 1996)
includes more than 1000 references to botanical keywords.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE DIRECTIONS
Although many of the research topics suggested by
previous groups have been at least partially tackled, most
have yet to be completed and others remain to be initiated.
Taking into account the previous recommendations cited
above and placing priority on research applied to con-
servation, we list here some important areas that need to
be addressed or continued in the next 50 years. These are
listed, as far as possible, to correspond with the order of
the research framework of the CDF Strategic Plan (Charles
Darwin Foundation 2006), i.e. baseline, monitoring, priori-
tization, research on priorities, experimental management.
Support services
Maintain a comprehensive herbarium collection, as an
important reference tool for botanical research,
especially floristic and systematic studies.
Establish an efficient information management and
geographical information system for all herbarium
collections at CDRS and incorporating data from
elsewhere.
Establish an information management platform to make
plant specimen and other data from CDRS collections
and elsewhere accessible via the internet, including
high resolution scans of specimens.
Complete and publish comprehensive checklists for all
Galapagos plants, including non-vascular taxa, fungi
and lichens.
Produce a revised flora of Galapagos.
Produce illustrated identification materials accessible in
both English and Spanish, covering vascular and non-
vascular plants, fungi and lichens.
Baseline studies
Complete comprehensive surveys of all islands to
improve knowledge of the status and distribution
of Galapagos plants, including non-vascular taxa,
lichens and fungi, and with emphasis on endemic
and threatened species.
Galapagos Commentary
December 2008 45
Produce new and improved digital vegetation maps of
the archipelago.
Monitoring
Implement and expand community and species moni-
toring for high priority threatened species and
habitats, and for invasive species including monitoring
for new introductions.
Prioritization
Complete and periodically revise red lists, including non-
vascular species, lichens, fungi and marine plants,
and produce Galapagos Plant Red Data Books.
Maintain and update the Galapagos Weed Risk Assess-
ment system.
Studies of priority species, communities and problems
Implement studies to determine the threats to and causes
of population declines of the highest priority threa-
tened endemic plants (Critically Endangered species
and “lost” species with no recent records).
Continue taxonomic revisions of endemic plant groups,
to clarify conservation priorities and species distri-
butions.
Investigate the biology, ecology and population dynamics
of Galapagos native plants, especially endemic and
threatened taxa, including pollination ecology, her-
bivory, seed dispersal and the impacts of introduced
plants and animals.
Investigate the biology and impacts of high risk invasive
and potentially invasive species, and design effective
control measures.
Conduct studies of vegetation dynamics, including
primary and secondary succession, especially in rela-
tion to disturbance, invasive species and the outcomes
of management practices, to improve the latter.
Management
Establish a seed bank of endemic plants.
Implement restoration projects for the highest priority
threatened endemic plants (Critically Endangered)
and vegetation communities.
Implement management projects for high risk invasive
species, using best practice design for the choice of
management goals and techniques, including moni-
toring to determine effectiveness of control and
recuperation of the native habitat and communities.
To realize these goals, a continuation of the CDRS
botanical research program, with close collaboration
with the GNP and productive research alliances with
outside experts, universities and research institutes, is
essential. Equally important is the continued training of
young scientists, which has been a strength of CDRS. The
interest and voices of future generations of Ecuadorian
and other botanists and conservationists are the best
insurance that this work will continue for the next 50
years.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Henning Adsersen, Frank Bungartz and Mark
Gardener for valuable comments on an earlier version of
this paper. As always, appreciation is extended to CDF,
CDRS and GNP for the support of botanical research in
Galapagos over the years, including our own work in the
islands.
LITERATURE CITED
Bensted-Smith, R. (ed.) 2002. A Biodiversity Vision for the
Galápagos Islands. Charles Darwin Foundation and World
Wildlife Find, Puerto Ayora.
Charles Darwin Foundation 2006. Charles Darwin Foundation
Strategic Plan 2006–2016. Charles Darwin Foundation, Quito.
Hamann, O. 1981. Plant communities of the Galápagos Islands.
Dansk Botanisk Arkiv 34(2): 1–164.
Lawesson, J.E., Adsersen, H. & Bentley, P. 1987. An annotated
check list of the vascular plants of the Galápagos Islands.
Reports of the Botanical Institute, University of Aarhus 16: 1–74.
Lawesson, J.E., Hamann, O., Rogers, G., Reck, G. & Ochoa, H.
(eds) 1990. Botanical research and management in
Galápagos. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri
Botanical Garden 32.
McMullen, C.K. 1999. Flowering Plants of the Galápagos Islands.
Cornell University Press, Ithaca NY.
Simkin, T., Reeder, W.G., & MacFarland, C. (eds) 1972.
Galápagos Science: Status and Needs. Unpubl. rep. of
Galapagos Science Conference, October 6–8, 1972, to
Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.
Snell, H.M., Snell, H.L., Davis-Merlen, G., Simkin, T. &
Silberglied, R.E. 1996. Bibliografia de Galápagos 1535–1995 —
Galápagos Bibliography. Charles Darwin Foundation, Quito.
Tye, A. 2003. Plant Research for Conservation in Galapagos. Report
for the years 1998- 2003 and challenges for the future. Charles
Darwin Foundation, Puerto Ayora.
Weber, W.A. & Gradstein, S.R. 1984. Lichens and bryophytes.
Pp. 71–84 in Perry, R. (ed.), Key Environments: Galápagos.
Pergamon Press, Oxford.
Werff, H. van der 1978. The Vegetation of the Galápagos Islands.
Ph.D. Thesis, University of Utrecht.
Wiggins, I.L. & Porter, D.M. 1971. Flora of the Galápagos Islands.
Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.
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